Students defend putte parties after fatal stabbing

Students in Roskilde want to preserve the city’s annual putte party despite a fatal stabbing near the event, DR reports. A 16-year-old boy from a neighbouring upper-secondary school died after the stabbing during Friday’s gathering.

The unofficial parties bring new upper-secondary students from across the city together in Folkeparken, a public park. Students at Roskilde Gymnasium returned to school on Monday for a day marked by reflection and questions about safety.

Several students at Roskilde Cathedral School said they felt safe at the party because police and Night Ravens were highly visible. Second-year student Josefine Houmann Hansen said she felt secure while she was there, but agreed that safety should be strengthened after Friday’s incident.

She and her classmate Olivia Lundberg Rosgaard said they would still prefer the traditional putte party to an official introductory event organised by Roskilde Gymnasium. The appeal, Rosgaard said, was the opportunity to meet students from the city’s other upper-secondary schools.

Both students said they had been affected by the stabbing but hoped the parties would continue with greater emphasis on responsibility and safety.

Student council fears a ban

Henrik Never, the rector of Roskilde Cathedral School, has called for the putte parties to be abolished. The school’s student council leadership met on Monday to discuss the future of its party.

Student representative Villads Kirkegaard said a ban could make the introductory period less controlled. The council would rather see the schools involved and school leaders help communicate what new students need to know about the party.

The student council said the drinking culture was the main issue that needed to change. Student representative Madicken Nordenhof Hinke said new first-year students could feel pressured to drink in order to be part of the community, even if they had never consumed alcohol before.

Roskilde Mayor Tomas Breddam of the Social Democrats has summoned leaders from all the city’s youth education institutions to a meeting on Tuesday morning. Before the meeting, he has indicated that the putte parties should be stopped.